1. if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read?The Great Gatsby (in order to get an idea of what I think is beautiful writing and storytelling)

2. have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?
I doubt it.

3. do you like your name? is there another name you think would fit you better?
It’s not bad. I always thought “Claudia” sounded like a kid’s name, but it’s not bad. There’s also not too many of us out there, so that’s nice.

4. do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do?
I thought that said “human DONG” for a second and was REALLY CONFUSED

5. are you religious/spiritual?
Neither. And I’m wary of that whole “I’m spiritual but not religious” thing. What does that even mean?

6. do you care about your ethnicity?
Not particularly. It’s nothing too special.

7. what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?
I don’t think I’ve ever really felt connected to any musical artists. I like a good deal of artists, but I don’t feel connected to any of them in particular.

8. are you an artist?
Depends on how you define it. Do I “art” for a living? Not remotely. Do I draw garbage psychedelic nonsense that’s Too Deep To Handle™ and pretend I’m Dali or something? You betcha.

9. do you have a creed? CAN YOU TAAAAAAKE MEEEEE HIIIIIIGHER

10. describe your ideal day.
Leibniz, age 47 or so, magically reincarnates in my general vicinity. The magical reincarnation made it so that he can speak English and he’s like “yoooooo the modern world is terrifying, won’t someone help calm me down by explaining all this crazy stuff I see?” I jet over to him and, as calmly as possible, hurl myself at himlick his wig bask in his amazingness and offer to help him out. I buy him a pair of glasses so that he can actually see. He’s amazed and captivated and curious, as I suspect he always was when he was alive before, and I have to make sure he doesn’t pass out from excitement/dehydration/hunger as he explores everything. I show him a calculator. I show him computers. I show him a modern calculus book. I buy him some modern clothes (because for some reason Leibniz wearing H&M fashion is just a little notion I had a while back and now I can’t get rid of it). I make him get vaccinated if he’s going to be around in the modern world for a while. We make use of the wonders of indoor plumbing. I take him to a restaurant and buy him some modern food. We ride the bus and the C-Train. I take him to Chinatown (Leibniz was a major Sinophile). I take him to the airport and show him that humans can fly through the air now. Hell, I buy us plane tickets and we jet over to Vancouver just for fun. But then we come right back because it’s probably raining over there and can you imagine how heavy a water-logged wig must be? We go to a used bookstore so that he can see what books are like nowadays and I buy him anything that catches his interest. We climb to the top of Nose Hill Park and watch the sun set over downtown’s tall buildings. I listen to his amazement and excitement regarding everything he’s seen throughout the day. We look at the stars through a telescope. We speculate about what’s left to discover in the universe. We sit together in wonderful silence. And once he’s finally worn out, I let him crash on the spare bed, making sure to note which pillow he uses, because THAT thing is going to be hermetically sealed and treasured forever one he’s done with it. And if he’s still there in the morning, we do it all over again.

Hey, you said ideal, not realistic.

11. dog person or cat person?
Cat person, definitely.

12. inside or outdoors?
Unless I’m walking, I’d prefer to be indoors.

13. are you a musician?
I can play a few instruments and can read music quite well, but that’s about the extent of it. So…sorta?

14. five most influential books over your lifetime.
In no particular order:The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald). I love how subtle this book is. I don’t know if “subtle” is the right word or how anyone else would describe it, but I always got this real subtle vibe from it. Also, wonderful language and characters.Leibniz: An Intellectual Biography (Antognazza). I somehow managed to gain even more respect for Leibniz after reading this very thorough bio.Candide (Voltaire). This was the book that got me interested in the European Enlightenment as a whole thing, which got me into philosophy and a lot of other topics that I probably never would have been interested in otherwise.Lolita (Nabokov). NNNNNNNNNNNNG THE WRITING, OMFG. The writing is beautiful. There were literally some sentences paragraphs that made me sit back and just shiver.The Monadology (Leibniz). Self-explanatory.

15. if you’d grown up in a different environment, do you think you’d have turned out the same?
Hahaha, probably not. Even just one or two changes in my past environments would have put me at a completely different place as a person.

16. which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle?
BAH.

17. would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else?
I’d rather be in Calgary.

18. list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.
Being anxious, walking, working, internetting, listening to music

19. could you live as a hermit?
I would be sad to be without Nate and my mom and Jazzy.

20. on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it for someone to get under your skin?
Haha, like a 7.

What is your favorite condiment to go with french fries?
Can salt count?

What is a field of study that is of your interest?
Like all of them, haha. Stats, math, philosophy, English, etc

Do you like to eat stir fry?
Only when there are certain things in it. Stir-fried veggies are great.

What do you have a habit of doing when engaging in a conversation with someone?
I cross my arms. It’s like the worst body language you can have while talking to someone because it makes it look like you’re closed off/bored/impatient/wanting to leave, but that’s all I can think of to do with my arms.

Does it bother you when someone cuts you off while walking?
MAN, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Peoples’ walking etiquette is awful and everything is awful.

What color is your mp3?
White/silver.

Have you ever laid in a hammock?
Probably.

What time of day do you feel mostly at peace?
Never. Peace is not for me.

How has the weather been treating you lately?
SCREW THIS WEATHER, MAN. It’s been incredibly cold for the past like 5 months, and now it’s rainy/windy/STILL SNOWING. Screw this weather, man.

Have you ever lost a pet in a tragic way? How did you cope?Any death of a pet is tragic. But I remember when I was young my cat Wooder died on my bed. It was dark and I couldn’t see, but I could hear her dying and was very, very frightened.

What type of curtains do you like?
Um…the ones that cover windows?

What can you go a day without doing?
Having food. Food is for mortals.

What can’t you go a day without doing?
Lately? Crying.

What is your ideal weekend like?
Ideal? One of the two days would involve a nice long rain-free, sunburn-free walk with Nate; the other day would involve a nice long rain-free, sunburn-free walk (or run, whichever) by myself, plus some time to work on school stuff. Both days would involve watching baseball and hanging out with my wonderful husband.

Who do you spend most of your time with?
Nate!

Are you into Graphic Novels?
No, surprisingly. You’d think I would be, though, huh?

Do you have a favorite classical composer?
I’m a traitor if I don’t say Mahler, but I really love Holst.

What type of quality is a must have in a friend?
A similar sense of humor.

Are you any good at reading someone’s body language?
I’d like to say I am, but I’m also the worst at everything, so…

Where is the farthest you have traveled?
Stockholm, Sweden. Or Helsinki. I think Helsinki is further away from Moscow.

Have you ever ate a zucchini?
Not raw. I’ve had zoodles, though!

What type of art would you hang up in your room?
Anything colorful! Or anything Dali, Monet, or Mondrian.

What goes good with a nice cold glass of milk?
Milk is always good after having something super salty, like salty French fries.

What fruit is too sweet to you?
“Too sweet?” That’s a thing?

Can you whistle an entire song?
Damn straight.

When’s the last time you ate a pickle?
I’ve never had a pickle.

What’s that you’re listening to?
The fridge having an anxiety attack in the kitchen.

Was the last thing you drank a coke or pepsi product?
Dasani is Coke, right?

How many times is your cartilage pierced in your ears?
Five times. Two regular lobe piercings, an extra lobe piercing, and two for the industrial.

What are your pet’s names?
Jazzy, Franklin, and Annabelle (Raymond Cat is not a pet. He’s a lion.)

Do you need to take a smoke break right now?
Smoking is dumb.

Have you ever had a pet bird?
Franklin is definitely more Nate’s pet than mine (he’s still a little wary of me).

Honestly, do you think that you’re going to be an overprotective parent?
The only things I ever plan to parent are cats. And yes, I can be a little overprotective at times.

What was the last kind of chips you ate?
Nate lets me have one of his round tortilla chips when he has those, so one of those.

Would you rather have ice cream, freeze pops, or popsicles in the summer?
Ice cream sounds SO GOOD right now, holy crapples.

What kind of relationship do you have with the last person you kissed?
A fantastic one. It’s almost like we’re married or something.

What color are your toenails right now?
They aren’t painted.

When was the last time you clipped your nails?
Like a week ago. My toenails were stabbing through my socks.

Does your mouse have a wheel to scroll with?
Yup.

What is one thing that you really wish you could understand, but don’t?
Physics. That’s mainly because I haven’t taken a physics class past high school, but still.

What were your grades on the last report card you received?
It’s been over 10 years since I got a report card, yo. I’m old.

What temperature do you like to keep your room at?
The hotter the better, excepts when I’m sleeping.

What is the brightest object you can see by just looking around the room you’re in?
The lamp right next to me.

Have you ever been tutored or tutored someone yourself?
I’m pretty sure I’ve never been tutored, but I’ve tutored a few other people, mainly informally, in stats.

Would you rather wear necklaces, bracelets, rings, or earrings?
Earrings.

Where did you receive your last receipt from?
Safeway. Bought broccoli.

What was the last thing you said out loud (singing doesn’t count)?
“I love you.”

Is everything you have on actually yours?
Um, yes?

When was the last time you wore a band-aid and why?
Jazzy caught her nail in the skin of my finger and ripped a huge gash in it. I didn’t bleed, but thought a band aid would be wise.

When was the last time you had tea?
A long time ago. I need to get back in the green tea game.

Do you ever watch those cake shows on the Food Network?
I never used to, but lately I’ve been going to Anytime Fitness during the time that Food Network has “Cake Wars” on. It’s actually more enjoyable to watch than I thought it would be.

Is it annoying when sites have a music player on their profile?
Yes.

Are you failing any classes?
Nope! Impossible.

What do/did you have plan for Spring Break?
What the hell did I even do for spring break? I probably just worked, eh? I can’t remember.

When was the last time you used a calculator?
Today.

Are you wearing pants?
Pajama pants, yes.

Have you ever encountered a ghost?
Who knows?

What was the reason why you stayed after school for?
Like, as in detention? I was making fun of perfect squares in 8th grade.

Does your school ever have bonfires?
U of I did for homecoming.

Would you rather be at the beach right now?
Not particularly, no.

Don’t you just hate it when you run out of hot water while you were in the middle of taking a hot shower?
That’s never happened to me.

What are you listening to right now?|
Nothing. It’s super late at night (early in the morning?) and everything’s nice and quiet.

Last person you spoke to on the phone. What was it about?
I talked to my mom about all the usual things. Particularly how much we both want to see each other and sad we both are. Fun stuff like that.

How old are you today? Or make up a question. This one bites.
29 years, 3 months, and 18 days old.

What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Baseball! Almost everything else sucks.

What is your favorite drink?
Water. Exciting, huh?

Have you ever dyed your hair?
In 2007, I bought some “temporary” red dye and put a bit of it in my hair. Turns out that L’Oréal thinks that “temporary” is a synonym of “forever” because that dye ate my natural hair color and took over like some sort of creepy follicle parasite. I actually had to dye my hair black to get the red out, haha.

Favorite food?
Either broccoli or M&Ms. Tough decision.

What is the last movie you watched?
Man, I don’t remember. I barely remember my own name sometimes.

Favorite day of the year?
Like…a specific date or a specific day on which something happens? I don’t know. I’ll just say my birthday.

How do you vent anger?
Angrily.
It’s mostly crying. And sometimes yelling if I’m in a private enough place. But mostly crying. Hell, if you ever see me crying, the chances of it being angry crying rather than sad crying are probably like 70%.

What was your favorite toy as a child?
When I was a baby/toddler, I had a squeaky dog toy that was a green wrench. Its name was Wrenchie, of course.
When I was a little older, I had a herd of 26 cheeping Easter chick toys. One for each letter of the alphabet. Adam, Bill, Candy, David, Ed, Fred, Greg, Herbert, Ivan, Jacob, Kiwi, Lena, Marie, Nelson, Opus, Peachy, Quince, Rachel, Sylvester, Tom, Ursula, Veronica, Walter, Xena, Yvonne, Zachary. I loved those chicks, yo.

Who is the friend you have had the longest?
I don’t know if he considers me a friend anymore (I haven’t seen him in person in a long time), but I guess technically my answer should be Aneel. I actually knew him in preschool.

What did you do last night?
The usual. Hung out and did useless stuff on the internet. Because I’m a useless blob of blobness.

What are you most afraid of?
I’m not afraid of much, but probably the thing I’m most afraid of is one of my loved ones (my mom, Nate, Jazzy) getting hurt.

In how many areas of your country have you lived? What’s your favorite?
I’ve lived in two countries!
US: Northern Idaho and Tucson, AZ
Canada: Vancouver, Toronto area (London specifically), Calgary
Calgary has been my favorite, but I will always love Moscow.

What is your favorite flower?
Half of the appeal of flowers is lost on me because I can’t smell them. Sunflowers are cool. Dandelions aren’t bad either, even though they’re evil.

It’s a survey because I’m 110% done with life and I hate life and I hate everything and surveys are the only thing that deaden the pain.

(Emo Claudia is emo.)

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Would you take anyone with you?
Probably Hanover, because I’m totally not obsessed with Leibniz at all. I’d like to take Nate, but I don’t know if he could handle all the Leibniz obsession.

Do you have connections to any celebrities (even minor)? List them.
Not that I’m aware of.

Name 3 items you could pick up from where you are.
My computer mouse, my keyboard, the fake plant on my desk. Pretty boring.

What brand logo is closest to you currently?
LG.

Do you ever play board games or other non-computer games? Got any favourites?
Scrabble rules the universe.

A musical artist you love that isn’t well known
I have no idea if Cut Copy is considered well-known or not, but I’ll choose them.

A musical artist you love that is well known
I love Coldplay. Can’t get enough Coldplay.

What is your desktop background currently?
It’s a Clefairy!

Last person you talked to?
Nate!

First colour name you can think of that isn’t in the rainbow
Pink

What timekeeping devices are in the room you are currently in?
The clock on the wall, the clock on my compy, my phone, the other clock on the wall, the stove clock, the microwave clock.

What kind of headphones do you use?
My everyday/walking headphones are Koss KPH7. They’re like $5 at Walmart and have super good quality sound for the price. They’re also pretty durable.
My high-quality headphones are Sennheiser HD 231i. Non-muddled sound quality that is also not too bass-heavy? Yay!

What musical artists have you seen perform live?
OK Go!

Does virginity matter to you?
Nah.

What gaming consoles do you or your family own?
Of the ones that are not in the closet: Xbox 360, Xbox One.

What pets do you have? What are their names?
JAZZY! She’s a sweetie. Have a picture.

Have you had other blogs on Tumblr? Do you have any other blogs currently?Can you tell I lifted this from Tumblr? I consider Eigenblogger my primary blog, but I do have a Tumblr. No other blogs, though.

If you were suddenly really hungry, what would you choose to eat?
Right now? Cheese.

If you could study anything, what would it be?
E V E R Y T H I N G

Do you use anything on your lips? (eg. Chapstick, gloss, balm, lipstick)
Vaseline. It’s the only thing that works for me.

What things annoy you more than anything else?
People who suck at walking, people who don’t know how to use the crosswalk buttons, people using Twitter like idiots, the current “all yoga pants all the time” fashion.

What kind of position are you in at the moment?
Just sitting in my computer chair.

Do you wear much jewellery?
Nope. Just my wedding ring (which is usually on a chain around my neck) and sometimes earrings.

What do you carry your money in?
…A wallet?

Do you enjoy driving? Why or why not?
It’s been a long time since I personally have driven a car. I don’t mind it, no, as long as we can listen to my music.

Furthest away from home you have ever been?
Stockholm, Sweden.

How many times have you moved house?
MAN, DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED

How many devices do you own which can access the internet?
Five?

Is there is anything that is guaranteed to always make you happy?
Not lately, no.

What programs do you currently have open?
Chrome (6 tabs), Word, the calculator, The Sims.

What do you associate the colour red with?
Ambition.

Last strong smell you can remember smelling?
SCREW YOU

Last healthy thing you ate?
Is a pita healthy? If not, broccoli.

Do you drink tea or coffee, and how much per day?
None.

What do you associate the colour blue with?
Melancholy.

How long is the closest ruler you can find?
Six inches. I’ve got my drawing crap in the drawer next to me.

I feel like a box of farts. Have a survey that I didn’t take seriously at all.

A – AGE: Over NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAND

B – BIGGEST FEAR: Fear

C – CURRENT TIME: 12:40 AM

D – DRINK YOU LAST HAD: Water. I live on the edge. H2Whoa.

E – EVERY DAY STARTS WITH: Not wanting to wake up. And a very clingy, purry kitty.

F – FAVORITE SONG: It’s really hard to pick. So I’ll use this as an opportunity to plug the first five-star of 2017: Infectious by Tobu. So good.

G – GHOSTS, ARE THEY REAL: I am one. OH SHIT NO WAIT YOU DIDN’T HEAR THAT FROM ME I WAS JUST KIDDING HAHAHAHA I GOT YOU DIDN’T I

H – HOMETOWN: The ‘Scow.

I – IN LOVE WITH: My wonderful husband.

J – JEALOUS OF: A lot of people, unfortunately.

K – KILLED SOMEONE: Hahaha. Nope.

L – LAST TIME YOU CRIED: Earlier today while I was walking. Because a rock got in my shoe. That’s how emotionally stable I am right now.

M – MIDDLE NAME: Cap’n Butts

N – NUMBER OF SIBLINGS: I have a brother in law now, which is just wild.

O – ONE WISH: INFINITE WISHES no not really. I’m in a super morbid mood right now, so let’s say I’d wish to see how/when I die. I wouldn’t be able to change it, just see it. I think that would probably change my life quite a bit.

P – PERSON YOU LAST CALLED/TEXTED: My mom

Q– QUESTION YOU’RE ALWAYS ASKED: “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” Stop asking. I don’t know.

R – REASON TO SMILE: I’ve had the “Dayman” song from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia stuck in my head all day.

S – SONG LAST SANG: I sang along with Ashlee Simpson’s Pieces of Me a few days ago, because I love that song.

X – X-RAYS YOU’VE HAD: Apart from teeth x-rays, I had one on my lower leg thanks to high school PE. We were playing a game called “wombat” and someone threw the (padded) bat so that it ended up hitting me in the tibia. There was no fracture or anything, but that part of my leg still hurts every once and awhile.

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents?
I do indeed. I love my mom and dad. They’re both weird and wonderful in their own ways.

02: Who did you last say “I love you” to?
Nate!

03: Do you regret anything?
90% of the stuff I’ve done, yes.

04: Are you insecure?
I have every reason to be insecure.

05: What is your relationship status?
Married!

06: How do you want to die?
AWESOMELY

07: What did you last eat?
Uhhhhhhhh…a pita?

08: Played any sports?
Not much of a sports person. I am 0% athletic.

09: Do you bite your nails?
Yes.

10: When was your last physical fight?
I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a physical fight with someone.

11: Do you like someone?
No, I LOVE someone.

12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours?
Surprisingly no. At least, I don’t think I have.

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment?
I am supremely annoyed with one or two people, but I don’t hate them.

14: Do you miss someone?
I miss my mom and dad. And Annabelle.

15: Have any pets?
Jazzy!

16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment?
UGH.

17: Ever made out in the bathroom?
I’ve made out in some weird places (drag show dance floors, the Fish Bowl at the UI library, on the orgy couch), but never in a bathroom.

18: Are you scared of spiders?
Nah. Spiders are cool.

19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
Like, how far back are we talking? Can we be talking, say, I don’t know…somewhere in the range of 1646 to 1716? Maybe?
(Please?)

21: What are your plans for this weekend?
Same as always. Walk. Run (maybe). Go to school to get lecture stuff ready. Try not to jump into oncoming traffic.

22: Do you want to have kids? How many?
No. Zero kids. Kids are terrifying.

23: Do you have piercings? How many?
Four. Two regular earlobe piercings, an extra earlobe piercing, and an industrial.

24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)?
I was good at math until junior high. I was always good at writing/English and art and music.

25: Do you miss anyone from your past?
Every once and awhile I really miss my old high school group of friends.

26: What are you craving right now?
Nothing.

27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart?
I don’t think so.

28: Have you ever been cheated on?
Yes.

29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?
Yes?

30: What’s irritating you right now?
Myself. And everything else.

31: Does somebody love you?
I sure hope so!

32: What is your favourite color?
Orange!

33: Do you have trust issues?
Bah.

34: Who/what was your last dream about?
Man, I don’t remember. It was probably a Met, though, because I seem to have an abnormal amount of Mets-related dreams. It’s probably because I read the Mets subreddit right before I go to bed.

35: Who was the last person you cried in front of?
Nate. That poor man gets the brunt of my over-emotional-ness.

36: Do you give out second chances too easily?
Probably.

38: Is this year the best year of your life?
God no.

39: How old were you when you had your first kiss?
19, haha. Late bloomer.

40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked?
Probably.

51: Favourite food?
Broccoli!

52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
In a way, yes.

53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?
Cried.

1: A song you like with a color in the title
Blue Lips by Regina Spektor. A very powerful, emotional song.

2: A song you like with a number in the title
40 oz. Dream by Good Charlotte. Good Charlotte reminds me of high school because I listened to the entirety of The Young and the Hopeless approximately 9,000 times over the course of like three years. I’m glad they’re back and still sound awesome.

3: A song that reminds you of summertime
Gold (Thomas Jack Radio Edit) by Gabriel Rios. This was a download during our 2015 summer road trip. Good times.

4: A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about
Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. I love the song, but holy hell does it remind me of Rob. No thanks.

5: A song that needs to be played LOUD
That Hide and Seek cover by Dan Wright. The only way you can fully appreciate this cover is if you murder your eardrums with it. It’s worth it, trust me.

6:A song that makes you want to dance
Gone by JR JR. This might be because the music video is a bunch of disembodied legs dancing, but you never know. Also, the song’s got fantastic energy.

7: A song to drive to
Sausalito Summernight by Diesel. Heck, it’s about driving.

8: A song about drugs or alcohol
Willst Du by Alligatoah. It’s in German, but yeah. It’s definitely about drugs.

9: A song that makes you happy
Jealous by Chromeo. I remember hearing this song on the radio the first time and thinking that it had kind of this old-school type feel to it. It’s very energetic and always just makes me a little happier whenever I listen to it.

10: A song that makes you sad
10,000 Miles by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Can’t handle it, man.

11: A song that you never get tired of
Sleepyhead by Passion Pit. I will never tire of Sleepyhead.

12: A song from your preteen years
Ha. I Want You Back by ‘N Sync. I used to dance to it in my room. And I still maintain that ‘N Sync was better than the Backstreet Boys. Fight me.

13: One of your favorite 80’s songs
O Superman by Laurie Anderson (1981). This song gives me chills every time I listen to it, not joking.

14: A song that you would love played at your wedding
WEDDING HAS HAPPENED ALREADY! We didn’t have any music. Um…Beneath Your Beautiful by Labyrinth always made me think it should be a “first dance” song as a couple. It’s super sad-sounding, but in a good way.

15: A song that is a cover by another artist
Dare You to Move by the Vitamin String Quartet (originally by Switchfoot). I always thought the original was pretty emotionally stirring, but this cover is beautiful.

16: One of your favorite classical songs
Holst counts, right? Then I pick Jupiter. Just because it’s so perfect.

17: A song that would sing a duet with on karaoke
God, I don’t know. I don’t know any good duet songs apart from Summer Lovin’, and that’s overdone anyway. Back in the Rock Band Era, we would always all sing together The Electric Version by The New Pornographers, so I’ll say that. Not really a duet song, but it works.

18: A song from the year that you were born
Orinoco Flow by Enya was apparently from 1988. Coolio!

19: A song that makes you think about life
O Magnum Mysterium. While I prefer the sung version, we actually played this in concert band in spring semester 2007, which is where I first heard it. I consider that semester to be my “age of enlightenment” period in my life (which is the most pretentious thing to say EVER), and I just associate this song with that amazing experience of gathering new knowledge and making new connections between thing.

20: A song that has many meanings to you
Paradise by Coldplay. I don’t know if it necessarily has many meanings, but I associate it with the last half of 2011, when everything was going to hell in my life. I listened to this song a lot and thought a lot about what the next step in my life should be.

21: A favorite song with a person’s name in the title
Alejandro by Lady Gaga. This was one of Gaga’s songs that I liked instantly, and the music video is pretty awesome, too.

22: A song that moves you forward
Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch. Another song that I first heard during a very crappy part of my life (grad school, round 1). It’s a very calming song that contrasted with my constant anxiety at the time. Helped me chill a little.

23: A song that you think everybody should listen toIt’s so hard not to say Sleepyhead for like half of these you have no idea Madness by Muse. Very emotional. Very pretty.

24: A song by a band you wish were still together
Uh…Teenagers by My Chemical Romance? I’m blanking on other bands I have that have broken up, so I’ll go with that.

25: A song by an artist no longer living
The only dead artist I can think of right now is Michael Jackson, so I’ll say Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.

26: A song that makes you want to fall in love
Goodnight & Go by Imogen Heap. This was my go-to fantasy song when I was falling very hard for a certain someone awhile back.

27: A song that breaks your heart
Silhouette by Owl City. Good lord, what a heart wrenching song.

28: A song by an artist with a voice that you love
Us Against the World by Coldplay. I love Chris Martin’s voice. I also love that weird little throaty warble thing it does when he sings notes that are just a little below his range. This song has a few such notes.

29: A song that you remember from your childhood
You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon. My mom used to play the “Graceland” CD a lot when I was a kid. This was always my favorite song on there.

30: A song that reminds you of yourself
Goooo by TNGHT, for no other reason than when I first heard this song, I felt like it was a great musical representation of me as a person.

What’s something non-political you’re rooting for nowadays?
The Mets! Even though the season hasn’t started yet.

What were the circumstances–and who was the recipient–the last time you were part of a standing ovation?
I have absolutely no idea.

What’s a cheer you remember from high school or college?
“In heaven there is no beer / that’s why we drink it here / ‘cause when we are gone from here / our friends will be drinking all our beeeeeer!”
Yes, that’s a cheer. Welcome to U of I.

What inanimate object in your residence deserves applause for its outstanding role in your life this past week?
My iPod. As usual. The little trooper puts up with me walking 3+ hours a day even in ridiculously cold weather.

When was the last time a group of people clapped for you?
My students applauded when I finished my last lecture last semester. Though they might just have been happy the class was over.

Where did you grow up?
The ‘Scow

Where do you live now?
Calgary!

What do you think about religion?
Bah. I don’t care if other people practice it, just as long as they’re not harming others by doing it. It’s not for me, though.

When did you start using online social media?
What counts as social media? Do the old Yahoo! chatrooms count? If so, 2001 or so.

What did you study to be?
Everything I could get away with.

How are you at this point of your career?
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job, but there’s no permanency to it right now, so that’s stressful.

Do you use your real name on a blog?
Ha, yeah. I don’t really care.

Do people you work with read your blog?
Maybe? If so, HI PEOPLE I WORK WITH!

Are you on the job market?
Only if a “permanent” version of my job is hiring.

1. What are your current obsessions?
Walking. It has reached obsession levels, definitely.
Does teaching stats count? If so, that. And Leibniz. Always Leibniz. I’m also kinda getting back into clouds a little.

2. What are you listening to?
The sweet, sweet sound of silence.

3. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often?
I wear my Black Mesa shirt an awful lot. It’s comfortable.

4. What are you reading?
Nothing, currently. That’s pretty sad.

5. What’s for dinner?
I want broccoli, but I had dinner last night, so I probably won’t have anything.

8. What training did you get and how do you make a living?
I have five degrees—three bachelor’s and two master’s—four of which I’m not currently using. I teach stats, yo.

9. If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now, and choose a different career path, what would you train to do?
See above—I kinda got where I want to be by throwing every degree path at the wall and seeing what would stick.

You then get a bowl of cereal. It is stale. You say::Shut up train I’m trying to sleep [damn trains making me get up and delivering me stale cereal]

After eating your stale cereal, you head out to catch the bus. The bus already left. You curse and scream::Hey! Where’s the drum?

So now you have to walk to school. The Populars drive by you and say::I’m feeling sexy and free

You reply angrily::You’re beautiful and that’s for sure [huh. Well.]

They drive off and scream::You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub [alrighty then]

You try to cross the street, but can’t because of a car wreck. You say::Hello darkness, my old friend

So you walk all the way back to the other side of the street to the store. You go in the store and ask the clerk::We’re in trouble so we move on the double, we move on the double, we move, yeah [apparently I suck at asking questions]

He replies::We have fallen down again tonight

You give him a strange look and say::Wake up kids, we’ve got the dreamers disease

Then you get some chips, but you cant find your money. You mumble::Far away; the ship is taking me far away

The clerk says::She takes her time with the little things [bitch, chips are serious business]

You angrily walk out of the store saying::Life’s the same I’m moving in stereo [life’s the same, except for my chips]

So… You go to the Starbucks across the street and a lady asks you::Hey Judy, get Trudy

To which you say::I’ve known a few guys who thought they were pretty smart

What’s the meaning or inspiration of your blog’s title?
My original title was “Le Seul Mot Juste” because I used to be a pretentious bastard and all pretentious bastards needed a MySpace blog in 2006, right? Now it’s “Eigenblogger,” which I like a lot better. The prefix “eigen” means “own,” so it kind of fits with what I do here, which is basically just blogging for my own sake of archiving my nonsense life. I don’t mind the readers, though!

What do you consider your biggest strength?
Can I say my immune system? My immune system is unstoppable.

What do you consider your biggest weakness?
Everything else.

Tell us why we should like your favorite band.
I don’t know if I have a favorite band. You should like WALK THE MOON because if you ever get the chance to listen to any of their other songs apart from “Shut Up and Dance,” you’ll see that they’re consistently good and not just a one-hit wonder.
You should like Coldplay because Coldplay.

Who is your favorite model of all-time? Why?
Bohr’s model of the atom.
Oh, wait.

Does it bother you when people talk about their pets? Why?
Pets are the best! Why would it ever bother me?

Tell us about your favorite holiday.
LEIBNIZ DAY LEIBNIZ DAY LEIBNIZ DAY LEIBNIZ DAY
Technically it is a holiday up here, but it should be a holiday everywhere, dammit!

What was the last fabulous meal that you ate? Where were you?
Our wedding dinner was pretty fantastic. Fettuccine Alfredo, really tasty sorbet, and our wedding cake had a near-illegal amount of chocolate in it.

What’s your lucky number and why?
I’ve always liked 11. I don’t know if it’s lucky or not, but I seem to run into more than an expected amount of double or triple numbers (like 11 or 66 or 222) in my life.

What are five things you hate?
People who don’t know how to walk courteously, people who don’t know how the crosswalk buttons work, #hashtags, yoga pants in non-yoga situations, emojis. So nothing too serious.

What are five things you love?
Teaching statistics, color, music that makes my crotch tingle, walking, and Nate.

Tell us a secret you can because other than us, who’ll read this anyway?
I just ate like 15 M&Ms. IT’S NOT EVEN M&M TIME YET.

What is the favorite body feature of yourself?
I don’t have one. I hate my body.

Is there a tattoo that you want? If you don’t have one, gun-to-your-head so you have to get one, what would it be?
I’d still like to get a little tiny integral sign tattooed on me somewhere. The main problem is that there’s not really a good spot for a random integral sign without it looking weird.

What do you love about yourself?
“Love…about…self?” I don’t know what these words mean together.

What do you hate about yourself?
I am the worst person. Seriously.

Who is someone you miss?
I miss my dad, yo. It’s not like he’s dead or anything, but I never see him anymore and I miss hanging out with him and my mom together a few times every week. Makes me miss when I was back in Moscow and it was just my mom and my dad and myself and we’d always go out for dinner on Thursdays and he would gossip about the U of I.

Last thing I googled: “Anytime Fitness Calgary.” The weather’s going to be garbage soon and I want a gym I can go to when it’s -40 outside but I still want to exercise.

Favorite fictional characters: Captain Queeg (The Caine Mutiny) and Gordon Freeman (Half Life) are the two I’m thinking of right now.

Number of blankets you sleep with: Two + sheet.

Dream trip: Either Antarctica or Hanover. I’d probably pick Hanover because traveling there would be easier and involve more Leibniz obsessing, whereas traveling to Antarctica would be more difficult and cause more damage to the fragile ecosystem down there.

1. Do you like blue cheese?
I like most types of cheese. Blue cheese is not one of those types.

2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? If yes, how did you quit?
Nope! I’ve never had the desire to. It seems pretty gross.

3. Do you own a gun? How are your feelings about gun control/2nd Amendment rights?
I do not own a gun, no. I don’t really want to, though I’ve always thought shooting (like at a range or skeet shooting or whatnot) would be a pretty cool hobby. BUT. I don’t know what the US is doing wrong as far as gun control goes, but it’s very obvious that they’re doing SOMETHING wrong. It needs to be fixed, and it needs to be fixed fast.

4. What is your favorite flavor of water?
Um…water-flavored? I HATE flavored water. A few weeks ago, I was on mile 15 of a walk and was SUPER thirsty. I went to a Safeway and grabbed the first normal-looking bottle of water I could, bought it, and went back outside. Without looking at the label, I opened it and took a big drink. Turns out it was grape-flavored water. Almost puked. Thirst was not quenched. Rage was fueled.

5. Do you get nervous before a doctor visit? Why?
I used to. But I don’t go to the doctor anymore, ‘cause they’re all hacks. Unless my illness/injury is at its absolute maximum severity, I can handle it on my own. Doctors can suck it.

6. How do you like your hot dogs?
Cooked, in a bun, and covered in a lot of ketchup. Simple.

7. Although it’s been asked a lot, tell us about a favorite movie that you haven’t shared before.
My favorite movies is Sunshine. But a movie I enjoy that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is The Music Man. It’s fantastic. See?

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
I’m not usually thirsty in the morning. Though if I am, I want water.

9. In a dating situation, have you ever misrepresented yourself to seem cooler or hipper? (Yes we know for most of you it was long ago…)
CAN’T GET HIPPER THAN ME, BRO!

11. Favorite hobby? Tell us about it so we understand it.
I actually don’t have a lot of what you would consider “hobbies.” I have a lot of things I like, but they don’t really translate into actual hobbies. Unless looking stuff up about [insert interest here] is a hobby. Then I have plenty.
But as far as traditional, non-debatable hobbies go, I’d say drawing is my favorite. It’s very tedious, and thus very relaxing.

12. Do you have A.D.D., or have you suspected it?
Nope. Never expected it, either. And I honestly think that’s overdiagnosed nowadays, anyway.

13. What’s a thing you dislike or would change about yourself?
I do not have enough time to list everything I dislike/would want to change about myself right now. There’s a lot of it.

14. Middle name? Like it or not?
My middle name is the most common female middle name in the US (Marie). It goes well with my first and last names, but I’d be okay with a more unique one.

15. Name three random thoughts you might have on this week:
*stressed screeching* (it counts as a thought)
I’m happy to see my mom, but I miss Nate.
I NEED MORE WALKING MILES!

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Tell us a bit about them.
Um…I basically just drink water. So…water, water, and water. Not sure what else to say.

17. Current worry:
DON’T GET ME STARTED

18. Current annoyance:
DON’T GET ME STARTED

19. Favorite place to be in the summer? Give us a wee bit more than “the beach”.
Out walking. Anywhere. I like summer in Moscow because all the students are gone, but I’m enjoying walking in Calgary during the summer too, especially now that I’ve found the River Walk. It’s even better when it’s not storming.

20. How do you usually ring in the new year?
Crying.

21. What have you done this summer that’s special? Pictures please.
I ruined our planned vacation for this summer, ‘cause I’m just that special. So no pictures of that. Sorry.

22. Have you ever walked into a room with just shoes on?
Um…yes. Yes I have.

1. What was the subject of one of your memorable YouTube holes?
Heh. That sounds dirty. A few years ago, I found a gifset on Tumblr that ended up being from the video, “Gaston’s Ultimate Mission to Obtain Some Taco Bell.” So, of course, I watched it on YouTube, which led me to the vast and wonderful world of YouTube poop. Does that count as a YouTube hole?

2. What was your most recent Wikipedia hole like?
Cheese. I had looked up Colby-Jack cheese on Wiki to see if there was any reason listed as to why Canada has absolutely zero Colby-Jack within the entire country (seriously…no C-J up here. Nate had never even heard of it). That led me on a wonderful journey though the cheese articles on Wiki.

3. What’s a recipe you got from the internet and actually prepared? How did it turn out?
I found this recipe in early 2014 (I think?) and it looked so good that Nate and I decided to try it out on our first Valentine’s Day together. It tastes as good as it looks, seriously. TRY IT.

1. You’re building your dream house. What’s the one thing that this house absolutely, positively MUST HAVE? (other than the obvious basics of course)
I don’t know if it’s a “must have,” but I’d love to have a dedicated exercise room. Like with a treadmill/bike/elliptical/weights in it. That’d be great. I’d be in there all the time.

2. What is your dream car?
A soft-top Jeep Wrangler. Preferably yellow, but that’s not as important, as I can always get it painted. I don’t know why I love that particular type of car, but I’ve always wanted one.

3. What is your favorite website that isn’t a blog.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…Food Gawker’s nice. I also like that Mathematician of the Day website, ‘cause mathematicians.

4. iPhone or Droid, which do you want/have?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6!

5. When you’re feeling down or lonely or just generally out of sorts, what do you do to cheer yourself up?
Nothing. I brood. I win the gold medal in brooding.

6. Tell me about something or someone that you love that most people seem to hate.
I love stats. A lot of people don’t, which makes me super sad. That’s why I want to be able to teach it so that it’s accessible and not scary.

7. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Depends on how old I was. I wanted to be someone who made a difference, at least.

8. Would you go on a reality show if given the chance?
Maybe? Depends on what it is. I remember wanting to be on Fear Factor when that was a thing.

9. Who was your favorite teacher when you were growing up? (Grade school, Middle School, Jr. High or High School only.)
Grade school: Mrs. Donovan, the year-long sub for 2nd grade (she liked me and let me sit in a fridge box in class ‘cause I was a weird little bugger)
Junior high: Mr. LaFortune, my earth science teacher! In 7th grade I was really into riding my bike everywhere, and Mr. La was an avid bike-rider, so we’d talk about that. He also let me act as the Alex Trebek of our little Jeopardy!-like reviews of the material.
High school: Mr. Garrett, my band teacher! He also taught band in junior high, but I wanted to put Mr. La for that one, haha. Mr. Garrett is awesome. He’d give us “tests” in band, which was code for “we’re not doing anything today but watching a movie.”

10. You get one pass to do something illegal or immoral. What are you gonna do?
Jaywalk! JAYWALK LIKE THE WIND!
(I actually don’t know.)

11. What were you doing 10 years ago?
August 2, 2006? Well, thanks to the miracle of daily blogging, I can tell you exactly what I was doing! While my blog post for 8/2/2016 is just talking about the fact that I know a lot of people whose birthdays are August 2nd, looking at other blogs around that time, I was cleaning up my stuff and packing things to head off to college at the end of the month! Exciting times. I remember doing that.

12. By this time next year, I …
Will hopefully have a stable job (teaching stats perhaps?!??!?!?!).

13. What is something that you need to do but you’ve procrastinated on?
Making my PowerPoint slides for my defense next Monday. Still haven’t even started those, haha. Oops.

15. Tell me about your most recent trip of more than 100 miles?
Did we drive more than 100 miles on our botched road trip this year? I’m pretty sure we did. There’s not much to tell about that, though, so blah.

16. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
Dictionary, probably.

17. What are you dreading at the moment?
My thesis defense next week. I want it to be over, but I don’t want it to happen, haha. Just give me the degree, seriously.